Cover construction



Feb. 9, `1943. A1.com V v2,310,398

COVER 4CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 16, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l ffl 5 INVEN'oR1875/1231' I (ble ATTORNEY Feb. 9, 1943. A. E. COLE COVER coNsTRUcToNFiled Sep'l'.. 16, 1940V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ilur [bld BY ,/aATTORNEY Patented Feb. 9, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OF FICE GovanCONSTRUCTION- Arthur E. Cole, West Haven, Conn.,- assigntmby mesneassignments, to Carton Development`V` Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of Delaware Application September 16, 1940, Serial No'.356,905

8 Claims.

loose and removed from the cover rim whichk may form a more or lesspermanent part of the container body.

Ice cream and similar edible and bulky products have for some time beenquite generally packed in What is known asa collapsible or knockdowncontainer or canister. Such containers generally comprise a tubular bodyformed from berboard or paperboard material which is suitably scored topermit substantially at collapse thereof during shipment and storage. 15'be placed underneathl that` portion'orY thel disc In assemblingthevcontainer' for receipt of theV adjacent the pull-out tab.'` lVIyimproved cover bulky merchandise, the collapsed body is exdiscscanbe'cut from-al'jblarlkf Slltabl'e Sheet' banded inte tubular ferm ande. bottom Wall Ymateria-1 such'ase"per@Humanist` lerblrd, Q'tthq disc ormember insertedv into or'applied to the like, with economyV of ma eria.e kcu vmg lower end of the body. It will be appreciated 2o andscorineoftheblaflks' maybe eected, ai@ that the upper end of such containersgenerally high productionrate byersingle pass o'tthe lsheej requirereinforcing to preventl inward collapse; material through an" automaticcu ulg,l `SM1 and such reinforcing is provided by the provision scoringmachine. My AI'IIlpIOl/ed,ooverdiscv can of a cover comprising asuitable cover disc Whose be inserted into. the cover and theassembledlperipheral edge seats Within an annular cover 25 cover aprgld t0the-c0ntalrler`b0dy as heretO- rim. Suitable interlocking means areprovided fOI'G prag cedf to lock'the cover rim to the up'perend oftheAnother object of thisj'invention` isto Vprovge-A container body whenapplied thereto." When' an improved coverrim'and cover disc assem ivy'access to the contents is desiredy thel cover disc` Whel'n meansar'DIOVided 0n the Cover disc' ls pulled loose from' the cover rim; thecover`rim` 30 to effect Withdrawal of the disc from'the rim remainingsecured tothe container' body to reapplied'to the @Ohtairler bOdY;easily; quickly and inforce and stiien the upper end of the conina'sanitary manner andV WithoutY danger'that' tainer'body during removalof the contents. the contents will b ey touchedfor contaminated' Inthe'dispensing' of ice cream and similar by foreign Vmaterials orinstruments. edible' products from such containers, the at- 35' Anotherobject of this invention'is toY provide tendant or dispenser oftenencounters diiculty an improved cover disc provided `With means ijn'removing tie covel: disc. tgt/he; ttliie tcovelrl' formedintegrallyth'erevvith `by` Iwhich the coverl 15C 1S unscofe 01' un Y0 ene a en an W1 disc may be pulled loose from the cover rim,"l usually*Search for Some instrument Such as an Which can be manufacturedfandassembled into iCe'Di'Ck 0r folvkvvhi'ch he will jab through the 40 "thecover rim at substantially the same cost v`as fove'dlsc 1F91' uw purpose@f Obta'mmg a grip a plain cover-.disc withoutthe pull-out feature.hfireon Such lm struments smily merce the Other' objects-and advantagesof'this invenedible contents W1th1n the container and thus tion WmIbecame apparentasthe disclosure pr0 contamlnate the contents with dirtandrother .www forelgn matterg 1t has heetofcfre been $1.15' 45`Theinventionalso consistsincertain-new and-- geldb tohproyldperforatlns' 1 Such 1159s original features of constructiony fand`combina g] tem y t dfscstn befbrofen mtc Segmels.' tion orparts-vhereinafterset forth and-claimed.-l

natien of theeontents is also 1ike1y te result. 5o geve@ tt? bflharatetntfcf '.unrfelfmi W11?" It is an'object of this invention'to'provide an e pair leu p91? e ,Camps api improved coverdisc'having apull-out tab which I exded 'gerto tte, mvenlt-itself'??? tfishp. carrbeeasily grasped with the lingers to remove JSC s an 'a Van 'ages' an@manner nrw. -c y the cover disc. Thev pull-out vtab normally lies ,itmaylbgcarrtd qmfmay. b?bttfudirsoqf' substantiallyin'the plane'of thedisc propr'adiby refelrlng' t0"the"f011ow1ngdescriptiontakenm isprovided Withan extensio'nplate which under`- lies the pull-out taband-'completely closes'fand seals the contents fron-rV any possible'Jcontact with theins'trument employed' by the attendant ineiectingremoval'of 'the cover disc. My improved-cover disc'is'frmedffroi aAsingle blank of paperboard material comprising arriairij disc'l portionand an extension plate which arejoin'e'd together by aV connecting stripwhich forms the pull-out tab; The-connctingstrip is provided withV adeep'sco're Wh'iclf divides'fthe' same into two connecting portions?which can be folded together to form the pull-outtab," and when foldedtogetherv permits the extension plate' to in connection with theaccompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which Fig. 1 is a planview of a paperboard blank illustrating the manner in which a pluralityof my improved cover discs may be cut therefrom with a minimum of waste;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my improved cover disc showing the`pull-out portion thereof in the process of being folded under the mainportion of the cover disc;

Fig. 3 is another perspective view of my improved cover disc showing thepull-out portion in folded position under the main body of the coverdisc ready for insertion into the cover rim;

Fig. ll is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view of a lled containershowing my improved cover disc applied thereto and held in place by acover rim;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the top portion of a container withcover applied thereto and showing more particularly my improved coverdisc associated with the cover rim as it appears when in shippingposition;

Fig. 6 is a top perspective view of my improved cover disc showing themanner in which the pull-out tab forming a part thereof may be grippedto pull the cover disc out of the cover rim; and

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of my improved cover disc as it appearswhenpartially pulled loose from the cover rim and in position forcomplete Withdrawal therefrom. y

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings and specification.A

Referring to the drawings, my improved cover disc is especially adaptedfor use with the collapsible or knockdown type of containers formed inwhole or in part from paperboard material such as now commonly used forthe bulk packaging of ice cream and similar bulk products. Suchcontainers generally comprise a tubular body a usually formed frompaperboard material, which supports a bottom forming disc b. When thecontainer body has been filled with the bulk material m packagedtherein, a cover is applied, which cover generally comprises a removablecover disc d locked to thecontainer body a by a suitable cover rim c ofrelatively stii and rigid construction.

The container body a generally comprises a tubular body portion I whichmay be formed from a series of overlying layers of spiral woundpaperboard, as illustrated and described in Reissue Patent No. 20,235,or the body I may be formed from a single blank of paperboard materialheld in tubular form by stitches or other se'- curing means such asshown in Patent No. 2,053,- 679. 'Ihe bottom end of the tubular body Iis generally provided with some means for supporting the bottom formingmember, as for example an inturned and upturned flange portion 2 whichprovides a seat for the bottom end disc 5. The upper end of the tubularbody I is usually provided with an outturned and downturned flangeportion 3 providing means whereby the cover rim c may be locked thereto.In order to effect desirable economies in shipping and storage space,the tubular body I is generally provided with a plurality `of verticallyextending score .lines or folds 4 whereby the body a may be shipped inflat knockdown condition and thus stored by the user until ready foruse. When the container is'to be filled, the body a is expandedintotubular form; and 'the bottomA end disc b vinserted therein in seatingengagement with the inturned and upturned bottom flange portion 2 toprovide a strong and sturdy substantially leakproof bottom for thecontainer. The bottom end disc b also serves to retain the bottom end ofthe container in fully expanded position at all times.

After the contents m have been inserted into the container, the coverrim c having the cover disc d inserted therein is then telescoped overthe container body. The cover rim c may be formed of metal, asillustrated, or relatively stiff spiral wound paperboard material asillustrated in Patent No. 2,181,545. Such cover rims generally comprisean annular rim forming portion 6 having a lower inturned lip 'I adaptedto seat under the lower edge of the downturned top flange 3 of thecontainer body and an inturnedi upper lip 8 against which the outerperiphery of the cover disc d seats. The cover disc d nor mally restsagainst the top edge 9 of the container body a and between this edge andthe inturned upper lip 8 of the cover rim.

In gaining access to the contents m of the container, it is customary topull out or remove cover disc d from the rim c, the rim c being left onthe container body a to prevent inward orv outward collapse of the upperend of the container and maintain the upper end of the con-- tainer infixed tubular form. Where ice cream and other edible materials m arepacked in the container, objections to the use of this type of,A coverhave arisen due to the unsanitary methods employed in removing the coverdisc d. For example, at ice cream and soda fountains the attendant willoften jab an ice pick, fork, or similar instrument through the coverdisc d and into contaminating .contact with the edible contents.

This invention is directed to the provision of a cover disc which can beinexpensively made and formed and which is provided with readilyaccessible means easily engaged and gripped to pull up the cover discfrom the cover rim without puncturing the cover disc or otherwiseexposing or contaminating the contents. It will be appreciated that myimproved Icover disc can be associated with almost any selected type ofcover-rim, whether-formed from metal or paperboard, and almost any typeof container whose body is equipped with a flange 3 or other suitablemeans for retaining the cover rim in place.

In accordance with this invention, the cover discs are each formed froma single piece of paperboard or other suitable cover material comprisinga main cover portion II which may be made circular, elliptical orpolygonal in shape to conform with the annular contour of the cover rimc and the container body a with which it is to be associated. A plateextension I3 extends from the edge I2 of the body portion II and isintegrally connected thereto by a connecting strip I. This connectingstrip is defined by a pair of parallel extending cut lines I'I whichextend a distance into the body portion II and the extension plate I3.One end of the strip I4 lis hingedly connected to the discs portion IIby a score line I5 which joins the adjacent ends of parallel cut linesI'I, and the other end of the strip I4 is hinged to the extension plateI3 by a score line I6 which joins the adjacent ends of the cut lines I1.It will be noted that the connecting strip I4 is divided into two halfsections Ida and Mb by a transversely extending deep sc ore or cut I9which permits the connecting .portions Illa` and Mb to be foldedtogether in close juxtaposed relationship, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. Itwill be appreciated that the deep score or cut I9 should not be such asto sever the connecting portion Ida from the connecting portion I ab butrather to permit these parts to hinge about one another and yet bemovable into a close contacting double-ply relationship.

It will be noted that the outer edge I2 of the extension plate I3possesses the same ycontour or curvature the outer edge I2 of the mainbody portion II of the cover disc. The connecting portion Mb is alsoofsuch length that When the extension plate I3 is folded under the mainportion I l of the cover disc with the connecting portion Iflb inabutting Contact with the connecting portion lita, the outer edge I2 ofthe extension plate I3 is in alignment With and forms in effect acontinuation of the outer edge VI2 of the main portion I I of the coverdisc. When the eX- tension plate I 3 is thus collapsed under the mainportion II of the cover disc, the cover disc presents a continuous outeredge of the proper shape and contour to properly i'it Within theselected cover rim c. The inner edge I2 of the extension plate I3 may,if desired, also possess the same contour as the outer edge I2 of themain portion II of the cover disc to simplify the cutting operation.

It will be appreciated that in cutting a plurality of truly circularcover discs from a, rectangular blank of paperboard or similar material,a wasted section occurs between the adjacent discs, which cannot beavoided. As shown in Fig. l, this normally Wasted material is employedto provide the extension plate I3 Without requiring any paperboardmaterial additional to that required in cutting the plain circulardiscs, so v that the same number of discs each provided with anextension plate I3 may be cut from the same blank of sheet material asheretofore.

A plurality of my improved cover discs can be cut from a single blank ofsheet material by a single pass of the blank through an automaticcutting and scoring machine, so that all cutting and scoring operationsmay be fully performed in a single operation. Thus my improved coverdisc can be economically produced Without additional Waste atsubstantially the same cost as that involved in forming the usual plaincover disc without my improved pull-out tab feature.

When the cover disc has been cut out from the blank IIJ as abovedescribed, the extension plate I3 is pushed under the main portion II ofthe cover disc and the cover disc then sprung into the cover rim c.Preferably the parallel cut lines I7 are each interrupted to provide a,short uncut portion at I8 so that the connecting portion 'Ida willnormally lie flat and ush with the main portion Il of the cover disc.When the extension plate I3 has been pushed into position under the mainportion II of the cover disc as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the connectingportion Mh will lie flat and snug against the bottom face of theconnecting portion Ida and will also overlie a section of the top faceof the extension plate i3. `Since the sheet material from Which thecover disc is made is relatively thin, a double or treble thickness ofmaterial adjacent the extension plate I3 will not interfere with theproper locking of the cover rim c to the downturned flange portion 3 ofthe container body. My improved cover disc assembled Within a cover rimc and applied to a container body packed with the contents, would appearas shown in Fig. 5.

When the cover disc dis to be removed to give acce'ssxto the contents,the operator can easily grasp the connecting. vportions Illa and Ih atthe foldgline I9 along Which'they are hinged. Ample room to obtain afirm linger or instrument grip on the edge I9 is possible by reason ofthe fact that the edge I9, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, is spaced somedistance inwardly from the rim c and does not extend thereunder. Aslight up- Ward pull on the connecting portions Ilia and Illb will tearloose the short uncut sections I8 which interrupt. the cut lines I7 sothat the connecting portions Illa and Mb can. be raised into posi-V tionsubstantially at right angles to the main portion II of the cover disc,as illustrated in Fig. 6. A firm finger grip can then be obtained uponthe upwardly projecting connecting portions Ilia and Mb so as to pullloose the adjacent edge I2 of the main portion II of the cover disc andthe adjacent edge I2 of the extension plate I3 from their positionsunder the overlapping inturned lip 8 of the cover rim c, as illustratedin Fig. '7. A further upward and lateral pull on the connecting tabsI4c1l and |419 will quickly remove the cover disc from the cover rim. y

It will be noted that the extension plate I3 at all times covers andprotects the contents of the container from contact and contaminationwhile the connecting portions Illa and I lb are pulled loose and grippedto remove the cover disc. Thus the operator has means immediatelyavailable on the cover disc whereby the cover disc can be pulled looseand removed from the rim without danger that the contents will becomecontaminated or the disc punctured. My iniproved cover disc can bemanufactured at low cost and the pull-out device formed from thosesections of sheet materials which are normally Waste. The cover disc canbe easily and quickly inserted into the rim and the rim applied to thecontainer in the same manner and at the same speed as heretofore and atsubstantially no additional cost.

While certain novel features of the invention have been disclosed andare pointed out in the annexed claims, it Will be understood thatvarious omissions, substitutions and changes may be made by thoseskilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A paperboard closure disc having a periphery adapted to seat under aninturned lip assoelated with a container body, said disc including amain disc portion, a complementary closure portion extensible beyond theperiphery of said main disc portion, and a pull-up tab dened by a pairof cut lines extending from the periphery of said main disc portion adistance inwardly thereof and a pair of cut lines extending from an edgeof said complementary closure portion a distance inwardly thereof, oneend of said tab portion being integrally joined to said main discportion and the other end being integrally joined to said complementaryclosure portion.

2. A paperboard closure disc having a periphery adapted to seat under aninturned lip associated with a container body, said disc including amain disc portion, a complementary closure portion extensible beyond theperiphery of said main disc portion, and a pull-up tab defined by a pairof cut lines extending from the periphery of said main disc portion adistance inwardly thereof and a pair of cut lines extending from an edgeof said complementary closure portion a distance inwardly thereof, oneend of said tab portion being integrally joined to said main discportion and the other end being integrally joined to said complementaryclosure portion, said pullup tab being foldable to permit saidcomplementary closure portion to extend under the area defined by saidfolded pull-up tab.

3. A closure disc having a periphery adapted to seat under an inturnedlip associated with the container body, said disc being formed from asingle blank of paperboard material which includes a main disc portion,a complementary closure portion extensible beyond the periphery,1 ofsaid main disc portion, and a pull-up tab having one end thereofintegrally hinged to said main disc portion and the other end integrallyhinged to said complementary closure portion, said pull-up tab beingdefined in part by a pair of cut lines extending from the periphery ofsaid main disc portion a distance inwardly thereo and a pair of adjacentcut lines extending from an adjacent edge of said complementary closureportion a distance inwardly thereof, said pull-up tab having atransversely extending fold line whereby said pull-up tab may be foldedto permit said complementary closure portion to extend under the openingdened by that portion of the pull-up tab which is cut from said maindisc portion.

4. A paperboard closure disc having a periphery adapted to seat under aninturned lip associated with the container body, said disc including amain disc portion, a complementary closure portion extensible beyond theperiphery of said main disc portion, and a pull-up tab having one endthereof integrally hinged to said main disc portion and the other endintegrally hinged to said complementary closure portion, said pull-uptab being defined in part by a pair of severable lines extending fromthe periphery of said main disc portion a distance inwardly thereof anda pair of adjacent cut lines extending from an adjacent edge of saidcomplementary closure portion a distance inwardly thereof, said pull-uptab having a transversely extending fold line whereby said pull-up tabmay be folded to permit said complementary closure portion to extendunder said folded tab and said main disc portion, said complementaryclosure portion having a peripheral edge which is complementary to theperipheral edge of said main disc portion when said complementaryclosure portion is positioned under said main disc portion.

5. A paperboard closure disc having a periphery adapted to close the topof a container body, said disc including a main disc portion, acomplementary closure portion extensible beyond the peripheral edge ofsaid main disc portion, and a pull-up tab having one end thereofintegrally hinged to said main disc portion and the other end integrallyhinged to said complementary closure portion, said pull-up tab beingdened in part by a pair of spaced severable cut lines extending from theperiphery of said main disc portion a distance inwardly thereof and apair of spaced cut lines generally in alignment With said rst named cutlines extending from an adjacent edge of said complementary closureportion a distance inwardly thereof, said pull-up tab being foldabletransversely of its midsection to permit said complementary closureportion to eX- tend under said main disc portion.

6. A one-piece paperboard closure disc having a periphery adapted toclose the top of a container body, said disc including a main discportion, a complementary closure portion extensible beyond theperipheral edge of said main disc portion, and a pull-up tab having oneend thereof integrally hinged to said main disc portion and the otherend integrally hinged to said complementary closure portion, saidpull-up tab being dened in part by spaced cut lines extending from theperiphery of said main disc portion a distance inwardly thereof andspaced cut lines extending from an adjacent edge of said complementaryclosure portion a distance inwardly thereof, said pull-up tab beingfoldable transversely of its midsection to permit said complementaryclosure portion to extend under said main disc portion, the folded edgeof said pull-up tab extending short of the periphery of said main discportion whereby said folded edge may be readily grasped when the closuredisc is positioned on the container body.

7. A one-piece paperboard blank prepared to provide a closure disc f-ora container body, said blank comprising a main disc portion presenting agenerally circular peripheral edge, a complementary closure portionhaving one edge thereof adjacent the periphery of said main disc portionand an opposite edge contoured to conform to the peripheral edge of saidmain disc portion, and a pull-up tab integrally joining said main discportion and complementary closure portion, said pull-up tab beingdefined by cut lines extending from the periphery of said main discportion a distance inwardly thereof and a pair of spaced cut linesextending from the adjacent edge of said complementary closure portion adistance inwardly thereof.

8. A one-piece paperboard blank prepared to provide a closure disc for acontainer body, said blank comprising a main disc portion presenting agenerally circular peripheral edge, a complementary closure portionhaving 'one edge thereof adjacent the periphery of said main discportion and an opposite edge contoured to conform to the peripheral edgeof said main disc portion, and a pull-up tab integrally joining saidmain disc portion and complementary closure portion, said pull-up tabbeing defined by a pair of cut lines extending from the periphery ofsaid main disc portion a distance inwardly thereof and a pair of spacedcut lines extending from the adjacent edge of said complementary closureportion a distance inwardly thereof, said pull-up tab having a fold lineextending transversely of its midsection to permit said complementaryclosure portion to be superimposed on said main disc portion and saidfolded pull-up tab.

ARTHUR E. COLE.

